David went to his first day of preschool this morning.
Each month his class is going to learn a shape and a color. September is red, so he wore his red shirt. The kids weren’t required to wear red, but I’m hoping that it maybe earned him some sort of extra credit. Or maybe he’ll be the teacher’s favorite. We’ll settle for either.
At parents’ night last week, the teachers were explaining what we should do if the kids are sad at drop-off. They also said that, sometimes, parents are a little sad, and that was totally normal. Tom leaned over and whispered, “You aren’t going to be sad, are you?” Looking at the folder on the table labeled “David” and the hook on the wall for his school bag, I wanted to yell, “SAD!? YES I WILL BE SAD! I COULD CRY RIGHT NOW!!”
I wasn’t actually sad. The class is just one morning a week for a few hours. It’s just a bit emotional because it’s a change. I’m with David every day, so I know everything he does. Now there will be a snippet of his life when he is away from me, learning, interacting, growing up. Even though I am confident that this will be positive for David, there was still a little catch in my throat when I dropped him off.
Preschool is like an official response to the question: Can’t he just be mine forever? Little, sweet, and mostly bald?
No, no he cannot.
When I picked him up two hours later he was exhausted, exuberant, and skipped to the door shouting, “Hey Na-ee! Where’s Mary ‘ginia go? Where’s Da-ee go?”
The teachers told me he did great and commented on his obsession with basketballs. Oh, did I forget to my son’s obsession with balls? Meet David Krieger. His role this year will be identifying, locating, and holding every ball in sight.
He spent most of the morning, she said, trying to organize the whole class into a search party to go looking for basketballs.
Tom and I chose a preschool that would, in addition to numbers and shapes, teach David about Jesus. As I stood there chatting with the teacher about David’s obsession with finding the basketball, I was flooded with gratitude. What a blessing for my son to have a teacher who cares about him, wants to know him, encourage him, and will tell him about the great big, amazing God that created him, loves him, and died for him.
If today was any indication, preschool will be a great addition to David’s schedule. I’m also excited that it’ll also give Mary Virginia and me some girl time once a week.
Plus, it’s really great practice for when I drop David off for his freshman year at Virginia Tech.
I’ll make sure to dress him in orange and maroon on that day.
That last picture is the MOST adorable!
This is adorable and I’m so excited for David (and proud of you too)…but don’t start with the whole “he has to go to Tech”. We all know that’s the surest way to get him excited to attend UC Berkley!
That picture is precious! So glad you weren’t too sad. L’s first day I could barely focus on anything else, I was so curious about how she was doing. But no tears!
LOL, I love the very end of this. I think it’s my favorite part. Good idea to start prepping now! 🙂 I had a hard time this year when Maddie moved out of the preschool class at church and up to “big” Kids’ Church.
Glad his first day went so well!
I think he looks like Granny in the first picture.
John John just saw the picture and said, “David wearing my Keen shoes!”
David is such a big boy!! I can’t wait to see how he coordinates with upcoming shape/color months!!